God is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness (Exodus 34:6). He is a God who relents from sending judgment and catastrophe upon those who repent, or turn away from their sin and towards him. God is love (1 John 4), and he is full of grace, mercy, and a willingness to forgive.

How can one describe or explain God’s grace and mercy? How do they relate to God’s requirement for justice? Let us first define these concepts. Justice is served when a person gets what he or she deserves. Grace involves a person getting what he or she needs but does not deserve. Mercy is demonstrated when a person does not receive what he or she rightfully deserves.

God’s plan of salvation for humanity involves all three — justice, grace and mercy. Because God is holy and righteous, he demands that justice be done. All of us have sinned (Romans 3:23), and the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23). Jesus died on the cross for our sins, taking our punishment upon himself so that we might have eternal life with him. As a result, justice is served, and God’s demands are satisfied.

How are grace and mercy demonstrated in this loving, selfless act of God through Christ? As we benefit from Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, we are spared eternal, spiritual death. We deserve it, but we are not subjected to it. On the other hand, we do not deserve salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life, but these things are freely given to us if we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Are you open to confessing and repenting of your sins and receiving these benefits for yourself? In turn, are you willing to share this message with family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and classmates?

How about those who have hurt or offended you? Are you OK with seeing God’s grace and mercy extended to them, or would you rather see them condemned to everlasting judgment? In your mind, should God’s love be intentionally withheld from some, or should it be made available to all?

These are some of the questions raised in the well-known story of the prophet Jonah — the guy who disobeyed God’s command to go to the Assyrian capital city of Nineveh and preach a message of judgment and repentance.

The Assyrians were the dominant empire of that day, and they were Israel’s enemy, so Jonah ignored God’s instructions and instead took off in the opposite direction. He complied only after he was tossed overboard by the crew of his ship during a severe storm, and he was miraculously saved when he was swallowed by a great fish prepared by God.

Even then, Jonah’s obedience was with much reluctance and bitterness. He had a real problem with seeing God’s grace and mercy extended to those he viewed as pagan foes. He believed that some people were not deserving of what God was so willing to freely give to all.

It is easy for us to be harsh and critical in our assessment of this headstrong, rebellious prophet. However, we are usually not much better than Jonah. God is more gracious and merciful than any of us. He loves, saves, and blesses people that we are quick to reject or pass over. He even uses people in his service that we would not even consider using.

May we allow God to use us to share the Gospel with everyone around us, even if we do not like some of them. We might not think them worthy of God’s love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness but, then again, neither are we!